Now that I’ve become a macaron-obsessed baker, I bake several batches of them at a time. It’s practical, actually, because you’ve got your food processor out already and you may as well get a few batches done at once.
It’s also practical for me because I’ve used store-bought egg whites, rather than fresh egg whites, for most of my batches. While store-bought egg whites aren’t recommended for macarons because they may not produce a meringue that’s as fluffy, I’ve found great success with them in terms of macaron texture. Store-bought egg whites last about 10 days in the fridge, so that’s another reason to bake more than one batch of macarons at a time – you can use up all your whites without any waste. These lemon raspberry macarons – one of my favorite flavor combinations of all time – turned out very well.
Ingredients
For the shells
- 120 grams egg whites, at room temperature (from 3-4 large eggs)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 40 grams superfine sugar, sifted (about 3 tablespoons)*
- 200 grams powdered sugar (about 2 cups)
- 100 grams almond flour (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Yellow gel food coloring
For the filling
- 1/2 recipe seedless raspberry filling (about 1/2 cup)
Preparation
Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine powdered sugar and almond flour and pulse for about 30-45 seconds. Sift into a large bowl, discarding any large bits, and set aside.
Place egg whites and salt in clean, dry, grease-free bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip egg whites on low speed, then increase to medium/medium-high speed and whip until egg whites are foamy and no longer translucent. Slowly add superfine sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, whipping until stiff peaks form. Add lemon extract and a few drops of your desired food coloring. Whip again to combine, but be careful not to over-whip; you still want stiff peaks but don’t want to take the meringue too far and have it become grainy.
Add 1/3 of your dry ingredients at a time and fold in with a spatula, turning the mixture about 15 times with each addition, being very careful not to over-mix. The batter is mixed enough when it is sticky and smooth, and you can make an unbroken figure 8 with the batter as it drips off your spatula.
Place batter into a large piping bag fitted with a plain tip. Holding the bag upright, pipe rounds of batter about 1 1/2 inches in diameter onto the parchment, leaving about 2 inches between each circle. Gently tap or drop your baking sheets onto a counter top or table to release any air bubbles.
Let batter sit for about 30-60 minutes; the tops will form a skin that becomes dry to the touch.
To bake the macaron shells, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bake one sheet at a time, for about 17 minutes, checking halfway; the macarons should form “feet” on the bottoms, but have smooth tops. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets.
Once macarons are cool, flip half the macarons onto their tops and pipe or spread filling on the bottom, then top with another macaron. Store in an airtight container at least overnight before serving.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 